IN-DEPTH
Interview with Laurie Walsh
Director of West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission, Employed by the St. Francisville Main Street Association
Laurie Walsh currently works for the town of St. Francisville and runs the “Main Street Program” for the town, which puts on events for the downtown area and promotes events through the historic district. She also serves as the director of the West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission, which is run through the parish. The tourist commission promotes tourism and strives to improves its strategy to attract visitors. These two organizations are separate entities, one being run by the parish and one being run by the town. Walsh has worked for the Main Street Program for 17 years, the tourist commission for seven, and has been involved in the tourism industry for 25 years.
According to Walsh, the town and the parish have different brand identities and tag lines, and a goal for the 2018 and 2019 is to find a new brand for the West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission. The universal brand for the parish and town was “Soothing for the Soul,” which is no longer used because the tourist commission found that it was not effective. Walsh says,
“We have sort of been all over the place with brands. We can’t find anything we really like that we think fits.”
In the realm of marketing St. Francisville as a destination, Walsh says that the tourist commission tries to use “experiential marketing” in its strategy, but is not sure if it is done successfully. In the past, most of the pictures used in marketing were stagnant, but Walsh says, “We are now trying to use a lot of pictures with people in them so that people feel more connected to that experience.” Walsh addresses a challenge of the tourist commission to be social media because the platforms are run on a volunteer basis, but she says that knows that it would be more successful to hire someone and put more money into social media. She also is open to the possibility of reaching out to bloggers but has not yet looked into it. Last year a social media sweepstakes campaign was launched that had merchandise and travel deal giveaways, which was found to be successful. A similar campaign has not been run since.
Walsh describes the market for tourism in St. Francisville as broken up into the international market, leisure market, day trip market, and a group domestic market. The
international market is targeted through trade shows, while the leisure market is targeted primarily through social media. The day trip market targets people coming in town for specific events, and the group domestic market includes groups such as bus groups, senior citizens, and students. The tag line and destination brand are universal throughout all of the groups, but different ad campaigns
Walsh Interview (cont.)
As far as advertising and media go, print advertising is the primary paid advertising used, according to Walsh. Ads are put out in local, state, and national publications currently such as Southern Living, Country Roads, South Mississippi Living, Texas Monthly, and National Geographic Travel. “We are trying to incorporate more digital and not as much print
advertising,” Walsh says. The town just started advertising through Southern Living Online.
Radio ads and some print ads are used to promote specific events. Walsh describes many overnight accommodations and businesses as being scared of advertising in the Online world, because many owners and managers are older, which is a challenge of the town.
Walsh, a long time resident of St. Francisville, describes the rich history and plantation homes to be the most marketable aspects of the town. Outdoor activities and the small-town charm are also important draws, in her opinion. Another attraction, she says, “are people looking for that getaway to get out of the city and relax and unwind a bit.” Golf and recreation
through the West Feliciana Sports Park are also areas they are in the process of promoting. St.
Francisville offers many events, Walsh describes, such as The Audubon Pilgrimage, Yellow Leaf Arts Festival, Walker Percy Weekend, Angola Prison Rodeo, Christmas in the Country, Polos and Pearls. Wash explained that these events are put on by different entities in the town and parish, but the tourist commission will advertise them through several platforms.
Walsh says the tourist commission has tried to market to Millennials in the past, but it has not specifically marketed to Millennials recently. Walsh says the attractions are not currently being promoted to appeal to the Millennial market, which is why they have not run campaigns for this demographic recently. Millennials in the target lack awareness of St. Francisville as a destination, she explains.
Interview with Johnny Patrick
Johnny Patrick currently serves on the West Feliciana Tourist Commission and has been involved in tourism for the past six years. He is originally from St. Francisville, Louisiana, and moved back and lived in the town for the past seven years. Patrick currently volunteers to help with social media and events for St. Francisville.
His perception of St. Francisville from a resident’s point of view is that the town is a “very desirable destination with beautiful scenery.” When asked the most appealing qualities of St. Francisville, he listed outdoor activities, history, architecture, natural scenery, shopping, and dining. Patrick listed two different brands that portrayed St. Francisville and their current marketing tactics. These were “We love it here!” and “Find yourself in St. Francisville.”
He described the current logo as the text “St. Francisville, La/West Feliciana Parish” in a distinctive font.
Patrick plays a primary role in running the social media outlets for the West Feliciana Tourist Commission. He volunteers to take photos and post content on social media. The platforms used are Instagram and Facebook. Both pages are called “Visit St. Francisville.” Several Snapchat filters have been used to promote specific events, says Patrick, but they do not run an official Snapchat account. On the social media pages, Patrick says that the target audiences for the posts range from Baby Boomers to Millennials who are looking to travel. They target for day trips and overnight visitors. The content of his posts include special events, attractions, accommodations, shopping and dining, scenery photos, and travel tips. Currently, the West Feliciana Tourist Commission does not use scheduled posting for social media but use a social media calendar to help keep a rotation. The most marketable aspects of St. Francisville are plantation and historical homes, natural scenery, and history, in his opinion, and these are advertised through photos on social media.
West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission Board Member
Patrick says no specific campaign targeting Millennials were used since he became involved with tourism in St.
Francisville. Millennials that travel to St. Francisville currently include outdoor enthusiasts, cyclists, hikers, kayakers, and music lovers, Patrick explains. “St. Francisville has a lot to offer Millennials,” says Patrick, “Our close proximity to Baton Rouge and LSU makes St. Francisville an easy destination for Millennials to travel. I believe that our array of outdoor activities along with our special events makes St. Francisville a very desirable destination.”